WASHINGTON ā Hoping for a chance to stay in the game and pitch the second no-hitter in San Diego Padres history, Dylan Cease received some help from the man who threw the first.
Cease was at 94 pitches through seven innings when Padres manager Mike Shildt glanced at Joe Musgrove.
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āJoe is like, `His stuff is pretty good,āā Shildt recalled. "Well, heās thrown one. He knows what this looks like. We let him ride.ā
Cease needed only nine pitches in the eighth and 11 in the ninth in a 3-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Thursday that completed a three-game sweep.
After falling one out short of a no-hitter two years ago when he gave up a single to current teammate Luis ArrƔez, Cease retired Ildemaro Vargas and Jacob Young on a groundouts for the first two outs of the ninth, then got CJ Abrams to hit a flyout to right on a 1-0 slider.
āMy thought was Iām going to throw a slider and Iām going to get it down, and if itās down heās either hopefully going to beat it into the ground or he canāt put in play,ā Cease said. āI didnāt like it off the bat. It looked very hitterish, but fortunately fateās on my side today.ā
Cease (10-8) struck out nine and walked three in the 28-year-old right-handerās third complete game in 145 big league starts. He threw a career-high 114 pitches in a game that included a 1-hour, 16-minute rain delay in the first.
āThe first inning, he comes in and says āIām not quite there,āā Shildt recalled. āThe second inning, āGetting there.ā Then the third inning, he just hit his stride.ā
Musgrove pitched the Padresā first no-hitter against Texas on April 9, 2021. Houstonās Ronel Blanco threw the only other no-hitter this season, against Toronto on April 1.
Cease was within one out of a no-hitter for the Chicago White Sox against Minnesota on Sept. 3, 2022, when ArrƔez lined a single to right-center on a 1-1 slider over the middle of the strike zone.
āIāve been close and to finally get it done, itās one of those things that feels so remarkable and hard to believe,ā Cease said. āTo be able to do it and go out and experience it, I really donāt even know how to feel. Just happy.ā
He worried about the pitch count causing an early end to his outing.
āThankfully, we were able to talk it out,ā Cease said. āI just said āI feel really good right now. Next inning, if Iām kind of erratic or use up too many pitches, pull me then. But give me a shot, at least.ā Thankfully, we worked it out.ā
Shildt said he wasnāt going to allow Ceaseās pitch count to rise into the high 120s. He said there was no further conversation after Cease breezed through the eighth.
āI just love the conviction,ā Shildt said. āI think itās important in my chair to be able to be open-minded and listen to your athletes. He felt good. He felt convicted. He made a really strong case. I want him to go out, too, but looking at the big picture and the factor (of the rain delay) before, and once I cleared that with him, he was good.ā
The closest Washington came to a hit was when Juan Yepez lofted a fly to shallow center in the fifth inning. The ball popped out of second baseman Xander Bogaertsā glove, but center fielder Jackson Merrill was there to snare the ball before it hit the ground.
āI was just playing keepy-ups, making sure it didnāt hit the ground," Merrill said. "As soon as he calls me off, Iām there and Iām ready for anything that happened --- if it bounces off him, goes the other way, Iām ready for anything.ā
Bogaerts also bobbled a ball after making a diving stop of Keibert Ruizās grounder with one out in the eighth but recovered in time to throw out the slow-footed catcher at first.
āIt feels like every no-hitter, thereās a couple plays like that are just remarkable,ā Cease said.
Cease threw 60 sliders against the Nationals along with 39 fastballs averaging 98.3 mph ā 1.4 mph above his season average ā and 10 knuckle-curves. Cease induced 12 groundouts. The Nationals swung and missed 18 times, including six on strikeouts.
His previous complete games also were shutouts: a seven-inning three-hitter against Detroit on April 29, 2021, and the win over the Twins.
Cease allowed only three baserunners. Lane Thomas walked with one out in the first inning and was caught stealing, then reached on another walk in the fourth but was erased on Jesse Winkerās double-play grounder. Abrams walked leading off the seventh and was stranded at second base.
Cease has pitched 22 shutout innings over his last three starts, and earlier threw seven innings of one-hit, shutout ball against Washington on June 26.
āHe kept our hitters off balance all game and never really gave us much to hit,ā Nationals manager Dave Martinez said.
Washington was no-hit for the second straight season. Philadelphiaās Michael Lorenzen achieved the feat last Aug. 9.
San Diego has won five in a row and earned its third series sweep of the season and first on the road. The Padres swept Oakland and Washington at home last month.
Washington was swept for the sixth time this season and finished 0-6 against San Diego. It was the first time the Padres went undefeated against the Nationals/Montreal Expos franchise since both teams joined the National League in 1969.
San Diego loaded the bases in the first with a single and two walks against Patrick Corbin (2-10) before the delay after the first pitch to Ha-Seong Kim. When the game resumed, Kim worked a full count before poking a single to left-center that scored all three runners.
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Padres: Open a series Friday at Baltimore and RHP Grayson Rodriguez (12-4, 3.83).
Nationals: LHP MacKenzie Gore (6-8, 4.20 ERA), whose two-inning outing Saturday against Cincinnati was his shortest start of the season, starts in the opener of a three-game series at St. Louis.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb